The human body is comprised of various organs that generate, or are subject to, a variety of pressures. These pressures are primarily induced externally due to gravity, and include atmospheric compression and body weight opposition. However, there are also a wide range of pressures induced within the body itself. These pressures include, for example, those generated by the cardiovascular system, urinary system, digestive tract, musculoskeletal system, and central nervous system, among others. Most of these pressures are critical for good health and must be precisely regulated. Blood pressure of the cardiovascular system and cerebral spinal fluid of the central nervous system are two such components that need to be precisely maintained. The ability to continuously monitor these pressures would allow for early detection and intervention in the event regulation becomes impaired.
Long term monitoring of intracranial pressures (ICP) induced by cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) is of particular interest since chronic elevated ICP is common in patients with hydrocephalus, and can become life threatening if left untreated. However, current state of the art monitoring devices typically require sensors to be placed within the brain and be tethered to bedside equipment in order to measure and/or monitor the pressure. Such measurements typically only allow ICP monitoring for days at a time, and require a clinical setting to facilitate these complicated and risky measurements. Patient position becomes critical for these systems, and since the sensor must be tethered from within the brain to a bedside instrument, the risk of infection is high.
Intracranial pressure is among the most critical pressures found within the body. Intracranial hypotension can lead to ruptured blood vessels and hematomas, while CSF hypertension can lead to decreased blood perfusion within the brain. Either case can quickly become life threatening and affects one to two percent of the population congenitally by hydrocephalus, or can be acquired, for example, due to brain tumor, traumatic obstruction, or damage to the arachnoid villi from meningitis, and other similar situations. Therefore, there exists a need for a less invasive system and method of measuring/monitoring such critical pressures, and that will not be as limiting to the patient's mobility as the conventional methods, but also be sustainable.